David Price has forearm tightness, he’s had an MRI, and he’s scheduled to visit Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. That’s all three acts of the elbow horror movie, and there usually isn’t a twist ending. This usually doesn’t end with Andrews discovering the map to a lost continent in Price’s elbow. The next piece of news is almost always Tommy John surgery.
David Price is getting a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, which usually doesn’t end well
We think we know what a second opinion on a pitcher’s elbow means, but are we right to speculate?
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Or is it? That’s just a hunch, and while I’m not a talented enough journalist to run a Lexus-Nutella search and track down every single time Andrews has been called for a second opinion, I’m pretty good with the Google, and it’s probably worthwhile to see how many second opinions don’t lead to Tommy John.
Four notes:
- This is not supposed to reflect on Dr. Andrews. Players also see Dr. Neal ElAttrache and other doctors with less interesting names. Every situation is different. Still, the phrase “second opinion” is closely associated with Dr. Andrews, and this is an unscientific look to see if there’s a reason why we often jump to conclusions.
- I’m looking at pitchers only, so Carlos Beltran and Adam Eaton do not apply
- Only pitchers who had second opinions on their elbows will be included, not the pitchers with shoulder problems
- This is not an exhaustive list. This is just what I could find through Google and Twitter searches, which is why the list is heavily weighted toward more recent injuries.
Here is what happened to the pitchers who’ve had Dr. James Andrews take a second look at their elbows recently:
Date | Player | Result | Second-opinion source |
|---|
If you want to break out the Dumb and Dumber quote about there being a chance that David Price just needs a little rest and rehabilitation, now’s the time. There is a chance. Don’t write his 2017 season off yet.
But, no. It does not look good. If you have a sense of impending doom when you hear the words “Dr. James Andrews” and “second opinion” — or any doctor providing a second opinion on an elbow — your fears are justified.
You knew this, but here’s a sample of previous cases just in case you needed evidence.
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